Top 10 things (milestones?) I learned at a pediatric educators' conference this year

Sunday, April 14, 2013

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Our annual conference of pediatric medical student education leaders (COMSEP) had the added bonus of teaming up with the pediatric residency program leaders (APPD) this year. In Nashville, where music and med ed mix melodically. And once again, I depart the conference feeling energized to educate and grateful for opportunity.

Here are just some of the things I learned (or am reflecting further upon):

From our Miller/Sarkin keynote speaker, Kevin Eva: The purpose of assessment is improvement. Expertise needs continual reinvestment. And good medicine does not involve just going through a series of checklists, we need to put it all together.

We are educating (and learning from) generation i as in iPad, iPhone, internet, interactivity, I want to share something...

That if you ask a bunch of people, "how many jelly beans are in this jar?" each individual answer will be wrong, but the average of all their responses are right. Together we can find answers. Teamwork.

There is a lot of fried food (including pickles) amidst the country music scene in Nashville.

Omphaloskepsis is the contemplation of one's navel as an aid in meditation or reflection.

Mentor, volunteer (lean in?), listen, teach, and learn. Pediatric medical education is a rewarding career path with outstandingly sincere, helpful, and dedicated individuals who come together for the children and all learners.

About the Expert

Terry Kind, MD, MPH, is Director of Pediatric Medical Student Education at Children's National Health System. For the last decade she has also served as a primary care pediatrician at the Children's National Health Center at Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, in Washington, DC.